Community donates bikes to East Austin activity center after August theft
AUSTIN, Texas — New bicycles and equipment has been donated to the Lorraine "Grandma" Camacho Activity Center in East Austin, after thieves stole thousands of dollars' worth of bikes from the location in August.
According to the city of Austin, someone broke into the center on Aug. 18 and stole 16 bikes valued at $25,000 – bikes that many kids in the community learned how to ride on, through various youth cycling programs and outreach initiatives.
On Friday, the city announced that enough donations had been received to replace the stolen equipment, just as the fall season approaches. Due to the summer heat, bike activities at the center had not been going on when the theft took place. The city said it received donations from local, regional and national foundations, as well as businesses, nonprofits and cyclists.
"Because of the recent surge of community support, the city's youth cycling programs are not only replacing bikes lost to theft but, are also upgrading our fleet with new youth bikes and helmets," said Angela Means, the interim director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department. "The generosity of these foundations, businesses, nonprofits and cyclists is akin to the Department winning a large national grant for municipal youth cycling programs."
